USA Today Used Facebook's New Emojis on Its Front-Page Stories, and It's Awkward

Update: Editor says goal was to show how communication is evolving

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Facebook's new emoji-esque "Reactions" haven't launched stateside yet, but USA Today decided to give them an early test run—on its own front page.

The results are … rather awkward. 

A sad face next to a stabbing story? An angry face next to an item on Russian missiles reportedly hitting unintended targets? (There's no questioning the "wow" emoji for Kevin McCarthy's shocking withdrawal from the House speaker race, though. That one's dead on.)

While they stop short of editorializing, the icons do feel like they're trying to reflect how you should feel about the news, which blurs the line of journalistic neutrality a bit. 

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